Syrian rebels build tank, include PlayStation controller for turret

So you’ve taken part in a couple of hackathons, maybe you’ve built something the people there thought was impressive. We’ll wager you’ve never hacked a PlayStation controller to run the turret on a home-built tank though.

That’s exactly what a group of Syrian rebels appear to have done as part of the effort in their ongoing fight against troops loyal to president Bashar al-Assad.

The video, which comes from the YouTube channel of Russia Today shows the controller being used to zoom in and out of the tank’s turret on fairly decently sized monitor.

The controller only appears for a few seconds. According to The Next Web, it was a user on Digg who identified the controller as belonging to a PlayStation.

It should be noted however that there are plenty of knock-off gaming systems that take their controller design from the PlayStation.

According to the video description, the vehicle was built using a car chassis by the rebels themselves. That’s pretty impressive considering the driver also appears to navigate by camera:

From a distance it looks rather like a big rusty metal box but closer inspection reveals the latest achievement of Syrian rebels: a homemade armoured vehicle waiting to be deployed. Sham II, named after ancient Syria, is built from the chassis of a car and touted by rebels as “100 percent made in Syria”.

Syria has been embroiled in a state of near civil war since early 2011, with thousands killed in the bid to oust al-Assad. Internet access in the country was also cut off last week before being restored a couple of days later.

Author | Nur Bremmen: Staff reporter

Nur is an enigma with a passion for creating words. He recently entered a love affair with technology and chorizo sausages. He travels a lot -- you catch him, if you can, at a Silicon Cape event every now and again. More